The award-winning first novel from the bestselling author of We Are Okay. For fans of 13 Reasons Why.

In the wake of her best friend Ingrid's suicide, Caitlin is left alone, struggling to find hope and answers. When she finds the journal Ingrid left behind for her, she begins a journey of understanding and broadening her horizons that leads her to new friendships and first love. Nina LaCour brings the changing seasons of Caitlin's first year without Ingrid to life with emotion, honesty, and captivating writing.

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Review

Praise for Hold Still

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults (2010); 2010 William C. Morris Honor Book

"LaCour makes an impressive debut with an emotionally charged young adult novel about friendship and loss." -Publishers Weekly, starred review** "LaCour strikes a new path through a familiar story, leading readers with her confident writing and savvy sense of prose." -Kirkus "The book is written with honesty, revealing one's pain after the loss of a loved one." -School Library Journal "A fresh voice to the world of young adult literature." -VOYA, starred review**

About the Author

Nina LaCour (www.ninalacour.com) is the author of the award-winning Hold Still and widely acclaimed The Disenchantments. Formerly a bookseller and high school English teacher, she now writes and parents full time. A San Francisco Bay Area native, Nina lives with her family in Oakland, California.

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Nina LaCour wrote this debut novel when she was just twenty two years old! Pretty amazing given how well written this book is and how confidently it deals with themes of self harm, depression, teenage sexuality and the complex grief processes experienced after losing a loved one through suicide. Really loved How Ingrid’s journal entries offered brief windows to her thoughts and the use of seasons distinctly marking the passage of time as readers progress through Caitlin’s journey to finding herself again after losing her best friend Ingrid. A challenging but very worthwhile read.

I sort of stumbled on this by accident whilst trawling through Amazon looking for something alittle different to read.

I couldn't really find much information on this book but I loved the cover so much I decidedto get it, though I realize you are not meant to read a book based solely on its cover!I wouldn't say its the best book I've ever read but I'll still give it 5 stars becauseit really was beautiful. The writing flowed poetically and you really felt for Caitlin.

I loved the layout too, the illustrations added so much and although there were not as manyof Ingrids diary entries as I thought there would be, what was there gave you a real insightin to why she did what she did, and what led to her being that way.

Reading about Caitlin struggling through the grief, trying to find new people todepend on whilst not giving up the struggle was heartbreaking. I couldn't imagine losingsomeone in such a tragic way, but after reading this I can see what a huge effect it would haveon anyone, let alone someone as young as Caitlin. But she battled on, not always perfectly. Buteventually she found her strength and found her direction again. And she realized that even without Ingridshe could move on, but never froget her.

Caitlin doesn't know how to go on, ever since her best friend Ingrid comitted suicide she feels lost and guilty. She torments herself with questions like: Could I have helped Ingrid and rescued her? Everyday life and high school feel strange and incomplete without Ingrid by her site.Caitlin needs to learn anew to have fun in life and to not feel guilty for living. With the help of her parents, friends and a journal, that Ingrid left at Caitlin's place, she tries to understand why her best friend killed herself and to go on with her life.

I bought my copy of "Hold still" on a whim when I saw it in an online bookstore. I had just finished a great young adult book about loss & grief by Amy Kathleen Ryan (Shadow Falls) and was interested in more books with these themes. I was suprised by how perfect "Hold still" worked for me. I loved it even though it gave me a headache because it made me cry a lot.

Caitlin is an amazing character, I loved everything about her. The way she questioned her own behaviour was tormenting and I felt everything she felt. The strength that Caitlin showed at the end of the story was outstanding and I was fascinated by every step she took on her journey back to a "normal" life. I loved that Caitlin's parents were wonderful and helped her with her grief. Both her mom and dad were truly adorable and I especially liked her dad's way to bring some joy back into Caitlin's life. It's always nice and refreshing to read a young adult story with parents that are just as they should be.

The insight that sometimes you are powerless to help a loved person is always hard to accept. Caitlin asked herself some hard questions because of keeping quiet when she knew that something with Ingrid was not ok. There are no easy answers to these questions and I liked how Caitlin dealt with them in the end.

Ingrid's journal was full of heart-breaking messages and reading them was very emotional and disturbing. I could feel Ingrid's pain and self-doubt. In the end I could even understand some of her feelings and realized that the pain she lived with was hard to explain to other people. The way Nina LaCour portrayed Ingrid's depression and her boundless despair was very powerful and felt real.

"Hold Still" was a very emotional and gut-wrenching book and I would recommend it to all readers because it's so powerful, arresting and full of interesting and great characters. I loved that the author didn't shy away from showing the dark reality of depression and that she gave Caitlin time to deal with what happened.

coverI like the paperback cover, the colours are nice and the motive looks interesting. However I think that the hardcover design fits better to the story.

final appraisal"Hold still" is a very emotional book about loss, suicide and depression. To read how Caitlin went on with her life after her best friend died was arresting and to read how strong she became was wonderful. Make sure to have some tissues with you when you read the book.

I haven't read much contemporary YA lately and Hold Still fulfilled my need for it perfectly. I read it compulsively, barely pausing to breathe until the end. It was just... perfect. It had everything I needed - death, love, hope, art, lesbians...

Dylan is like, the ultimate best friend. Not only is she a lesbian with an actual personality but she really helps Caitlin get out of her funk and start to enjoy life again. I really did picture her as Rock Nana, from the manga series. Her over-whelming need for MOAR COFFEE was a little worrying though!

Art is a big theme in this, Caitlin and Ingrid used to be the stars of their photography class last year and now that Ingrid has died, Caitlin just can't bring herself to be bothered anymore. This isn't helped by Veena, their class teacher, who seems to prefer to ignore Caitlin this year. The idea of Caitlin being a carpenter and building a tree house was AWESOME and I had a lot of fun imagining it!